Dubai Creek extension plans in final stages

Dubai Creek will be extended by 12.2km. (Photo by Nasser Younes/AFP/Getty Images)

Construction work to extend the Dubai Creek from Business Bay off Sheikh Zayed Road to the Gulf waters, is imminent, it has been reported.

Preparations to start work on this crucial part of the extension project are in the final stages, the daily paper Gulf News reported.

The ambitious project will increase the length of the creek from 14km to 26.2km, with Bur Dubai becoming an island in the middle of the creek ring.

"The most critical part of the extension work is the next 2.2km stretch which will take the creek from Sheikh Zayed Road back to the sea," Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said.

Major traffic diversions on Sheikh Zayed Road will be put in place over the next few weeks in preparation for work to construct an 800m-long bridge, with six lanes in each direction on the road.

Two further bridges, with three lanes in each direction, will be built on Al Wasl Road, next to Safa Park, and Jumeirah Road.

The project is part of government plans to ease traffic congestion in the city by improving marine links. Work is due to be completed by the end of 2010. Up to 10km of the total 12.2km extension work has already been completed in Business Bay.